Africa Wild

Hmmmm.... very interesting . I knew these Apps would become a problem and I spoke against this on the " other forum " at the time

Especially interesting that Sanparks are getting involved because as I understand , if you wish to use any material obtained in a National Park for commercial purposes , then you need specific permission from them , and even pay a royalty ...........

Everybody wants to make money without having to work for it Much easier

Here is a video showing how to copyright your video and to resize it, works about the same as resizing and copyrighting a photo. You just apply a layer over all the video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kHMc4hB1rY

There is now a petition to ban all reporting of sightings. Is this the way to go?

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/petition/So ... AEJeb&pv=0

To prohibit things is mostly not the way to go, on the other hand if the reporting of sightings creates chaos Honestly I do not know what to think, because a way in between does not exist Can the APP be limited to a certain number of "clicks"? I suppose so. but will the news not spread in another way?

Personally, I'll never use the thing, but that is not a good reason for prohibiting it

I personally believe it is human behaviour and has little to do with app. On the other side there was a thread from before the app about congestion at sightings and behaviour. Then there are the radio's of the OSV are they going to be banned, but they need to show their clients something otherwise their tips are small and if clients are satisfied, then word of mouth spreads about the park and Sanparks benefit from the free advertising etc. If you stop for a sighting in middle between Lower Sabie and Skukuza where there is no reception, within minutes there is congestion before time for anybody to report the sighting and for the people receiving the sighting to arrive. The sightings boards are also a source of identifying where sightings are.

From sanparks face book Page

https://www.facebook.com/South.African. ... s/?fref=nf


SANParks concerned about the use of mobile apps to alert patrons on sightings.

The introduction of mobile applications designed to share information on interesting animal sightings in national parks, particularly in the iconic Kruger National Park, has become a major cause for concern for South African National Parks (SANParks). The rise in the use of these applications has resulted in an increased rate of lawlessness in the Parks including speeding, congestion at sightings as well as road kills caused by guests rushing to and congregating around these sightings.

This is according to SANParks, Managing Executive: Tourism Development & Marketing Hapiloe Sello, who said SANParks has been inundated with scores of customer complaints emanating from the use of these mobile applications.

According to Sello since the arrival of these mobile apps, authorities have received a considerable increase in reports of speeding cases, road kills as well as road rage incidents at sightings. “As an organisation we appreciate the fact that technology has evolved and that guests are taking advantage of it, however this is compromising the values of good game viewing in national parks.”

She said SANParks holds a leading position globally in the conservation of bio-diversity and the management of eco-tourism; it would therefore be regrettable for SANParks to turn a blind eye to trends that reverse the gains made in these fields.”

“Most guests appreciate the leisurely drive through the parks and the potential reward of a good sighting as a key element of the visitor experience. This is an experience that SANParks commits to protecting and therefore the usage of these mobile applications is in direct contradiction to the ethos of responsible tourism espoused by SANParks.”

“We at SANParks discourage the use of these mobile applications as they tend to induce an unhealthy sense of eagerness for visitors to break the rules and, we are exploring legal mechanisms to curtail the use of sightings apps,” concludes Sello.

Issued by:
South African National Parks (SANParks) Corporate Communications
Tel: 012 426 5170

Enquiries:
William Mabasa
Acting Head of Communications, SANParks
Tel: 013 735 4363; Cell: 082 807 3919
E-mail: William.Mabasa@sanparks.org

Reynold Thakhuli
General Manager: Media, PR & Stakeholder Relations, SANParks
Tel 012 426 5203; Cell: 073 373 4999
E-mail: rey.thakhuli@sanparks.org

What they conveniently don't mention is they also increased the gate quota's for 2010 which is around time when these started with groups on bbm etc and never reversed the increase as it was more income for them. The amount of people in the South is a problem, if there were less people, there would be less Tings/spots and less traffic. North doesn't have the same problem and the apps are also available there. The other problem are the people who hog the sighting, they park blocking traffic in best position and are not budging, they are there for hours.

I would love to know how they are planning to stop the people from using these APPS.

There's no way to control it

Will there be a person at the camp gate asking you when you exit if you are going to a APP sighting

I totally agree that these APPS create chaos in the south, just like RobertT mentioned. They allow way too many day visitors in at those gates together with 4 main camps close together. That creates too many cars on those roads.